Which CPU?

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Hotlips 2

Junior Member
Sep 7, 2010
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Good Evening:

:confused: If you had a choice, which one of these two CPU'S would you prefer; and if so why? 1. AMD Phenon 11 945 or Intel i5 / 560.

I am not a gamer; nor do I look at a look at a lot of videos. However; I like plenty of speed for high end software like; Adobe Photo Shop.

I would appreciate the courtesy of your reply; please no funny remarks.

Thank you.
 
DrMrLordX

DrMrLordX

Lifer
Apr 27, 2000
22,939
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Photoshop is a bit odd in its support for multicore CPUs. If you know which filters you want to use and know whether or not multiple cores help a lot when using them, then you can take a better guess at which CPU will do more for you.

Try to find some benchmarks involving the PS filters you use and/or some benchmarks for the other software you use.

My guess is that the 945 will be better, since multiple cores are good for productivity/workstation-style workloads right now. If you have any odd apps that can not use more than two cores, the 560 might be the better deal.

Also, are you interested in overclocking?
 
H

Hotlips 2

Junior Member
Sep 7, 2010
11
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:confused:

No I am not interested in over clocking. All that I am interested in is basically the difference between the two CPU'S. I find this mind boggling as I am a little more than a novice who is trying to understand it all. If you had a choice; which one would you use, if you want a computer which is fast all around in general.

Thank you.
 
DrMrLordX

DrMrLordX

Lifer
Apr 27, 2000
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I would choose the 945. But you really need to do some research on the individual software that you want to run to see what will really be faster, the 945 or the 560.

As I already mentioned, Photoshop is weird since it relies on a lot of filters that do not always utilize multiple cores as well as the main program does, and people have complained for years that Photoshop has lagged behind in multi-core support anyway. Things are better now, but it would still be possible for the 560 to be faster depending on which filters you use.

For just general computing the 945 will probably be faster as long as you are using a modern operating system (Win 7) and the latest releases of software that you want to use.
 
F

Flipped Gazelle

Diamond Member
Sep 5, 2004
6,666
3
81
Neither CPU is really meant for the "high end" market. I believe the i5 560 is a Celeron, and the PhII X4 945 has been superseded by quite a few models in AMD's lineup.

If Photoshop is your primary app, I would look to stretch the budget to a Core i5 7xx or PhII X4 965, or X6 1055T.
 
H

Hotlips 2

Junior Member
Sep 7, 2010
11
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:confused: Let me rephrase my query. If I wanted my computer to basically be very fast, which one of the two processors would you suggest. I have the chance of going from my Athlon 945 to an Intel i5. I want to learn Photo Shop and use most likely Quick Books. I also want to download or upload music; but most of all to have something that will be excellent all around. From my layman's point of view, I think that my current processor is a little on the slow side. I wish I knew how to really judge my current processor; is it fast or is it slow?

Thanks
 
richierich1212

richierich1212

Platinum Member
Jul 5, 2002
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So you already have the 945? Future proofing means more cores. And do you mean the i5-650? It's only a dual-core.
 
H

Hotlips 2

Junior Member
Sep 7, 2010
11
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0
:confused::confused::confused::confused:
richierich1212 said:
So you already have the 945? Future proofing means more cores. And do you mean the i5-650? It's only a dual-core.
Click to expand...

This is the problem that I had; I wish I knew which one. Which one of the two would you suggest; either i keep my present one or should I get an i5. Please remember I like plenty of speed for what I mentioned above. Please look at all the postings and suggest to me what I should do.

Thanks
 
F

Flipped Gazelle

Diamond Member
Sep 5, 2004
6,666
3
81
Hotlips 2 said:
:confused: Let me rephrase my query. If I wanted my computer to basically be very fast, which one of the two processors would you suggest. I have the chance of going from my Athlon 945 to an Intel i5. I want to learn Photo Shop and use most likely Quick Books. I also want to download or upload music; but most of all to have something that will be excellent all around. From my layman's point of view, I think that my current processor is a little on the slow side. I wish I knew how to really judge my current processor; is it fast or is it slow?

Thanks
Click to expand...

Hang on...

In AMD-world, a "945" is a Phenom II, not an Athlon. Are you sure this is the CPU you currently have?

The Intel i5 560 you mentioned in your OP is actually a Celeron, which is a reduced-performance version of a full "i5". It is not faster than an AMD Phenom II X4 945.

If you query is, essentially, "should I ditch my current PC for a new one with an Intel i5 560?", then the answer is "no." The i5 560 is, for the most part, slower than your current AMD chip.

As for the 945 being "slow", it isn't. How many applications and processes are running at startup?

Also, there really is no "future proof". High-end apps like Photoshop always want more speed, more RAM, faster hard drive, etc.

You need more than just a "fast" CPU. You want generous amounts of memory and a fast hard drive or SSD. What are the specs of the rest of your computer?
 
H

Hotlips 2

Junior Member
Sep 7, 2010
11
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Sorry, I gave you misleading information. What I have is AMD Phenom II 945. This is the spec that I have: 4 gigs of DDR 3 Ram. My motherboard is a Gigabyte 770TA-UD3 I know for a fact that my motherboard is quite a good spec. From what I can gather; should I keep it; or is it possible to upgrade it?

Thanks
 
Spikesoldier

Spikesoldier

Diamond Member
Oct 15, 2001
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given only those two choices, i would go with the amd because its is a better value and because i5 560 is a much less robust chip compared to the X4 945.

i think that now the difference between those chips will be minimal however as time goes on, software gets updated, and new versions of software get released then the 945 will really shine over the 560.
 
richierich1212

richierich1212

Platinum Member
Jul 5, 2002
2,741
360
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Your current chip is fine. And you're not a power user so I wouldn't worry about upgrading yet. Down the line you do have the option to upgrade to a Thuban (hex-core) if you need it.
 
DrMrLordX

DrMrLordX

Lifer
Apr 27, 2000
22,939
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Hotlips 2 said:
Sorry, I gave you misleading information. What I have is AMD Phenom II 945. This is the spec that I have: 4 gigs of DDR 3 Ram. My motherboard is a Gigabyte 770TA-UD3 I know for a fact that my motherboard is quite a good spec. From what I can gather; should I keep it; or is it possible to upgrade it?

Thanks
Click to expand...

Since you already have the 945, keep it. There aren't many scenarios where the 560 would be faster.

You can probably upgrade to a Phenom II x6 processor someday if you wish. In fact:

http://webcache.googleusercontent.c...tml+770TA-UD3+thuban&cd=5&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us

it looks like your board supports x6 processors so long as you have the F3 BIOS.
 
K

Kivada

Junior Member
Sep 10, 2010
23
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0
My vote is the 945 or step up to the Phenom 2 X6 1055T and 8Gb of ram if you do allot of high res work. I can hit the 4Gb limit when stitching together a few 12Mp raws into a panoramic pic.
 
N

NinjaPenguin

Junior Member
Sep 16, 2010
1
0
0
I've always read through these forums, but finally had to sign up to reply to this.

You never said what you do with the computer, only that you want it to be "fast" in your other threads. It would be of help if you would say what you were doing.

Also, it sounds as if your not happy with the answers given, and are looking for the answer that you want. Many people have stated the Phenom II as a great chip. I have it on one of my PC's at home and use it for gaming, and absolutely love it.

It would benefit the rest of the community if you stated what you use it for. I don't think a lot of people accept "i just want fast" when we have no idea what you use it for. More information is needed, because it seems everybody is just going in circles
 
F

FishAk

Senior member
Jun 13, 2010
987
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Hotlips 2 said:
I forgot to add; to be future proof for at least three years.
Click to expand...

Don't take this wrong- I don't mean to be negative or to harp on you.

There is no such thing as future-proofing in the computer world- especially three years out.

When the future comes, there will be things you don't, or can't imagine wanting right now. Data will travel on photons instead of electrons, SSDs will store your data, and your MB will house your OS.

Just buy the best you wish to pay for today.
 
TurtleCrusher

TurtleCrusher

Lifer
Apr 20, 2008
10,067
990
126
Fish, you can future proof when it comes to CPUs.

I didnt even need to upgrade my X2 4200+ when I did. It still plays al of my games well, sans GTA4. Buying a quad or a hex core IS future proofing. Software has a LOOOOOOONG way to go to utilize above one core. Games do, but basic software doesnt tax a CPU or ram at all.
 
F

FishAk

Senior member
Jun 13, 2010
987
0
0
No one knows what is in the pipeline.

There is no such thing as future proofing any component of an electronic device. Future resistant yes, but not future proof. Yes, you may get to the future, and find that some of the component's you already have will still serve adequately- but there is no guaranty of that possibility.

Not all developers- hardware, and software- show their cards before they are close to a launch. It can give an edge to a competitor. Because of this, it is possible, and even likely, that something new will hit us from the blind side, rendering future resistant hardware obsolete. It has happened before, and it will happen again.

If you buy from the top shelf, the chance of your hardware being somewhere above the bottom shelf in the future are improved, but at a much higher cost, and you still get no guarantee that piece of hardware will even work with your future requirements. Unless you need the top shelf product now, it is more economical to just buy what you need now. In the future, all that stuff that was on the top shelf will be much lower.

I misspoke. There is one way to future proof your system. The only way to truly future proof, is to plan to buy components in the future.

Perhaps this is just a language thing- kind of like WD saying they guarantee a disk will work for 5 years. Of course there is no guarantee- WD doesn't have the power to protect your disk from failing. The only thing they have the power to do, is to fix or replace the disk. That is not the same as keeping it from breaking in the first place, and hence; not really a guarantee.
 
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toyota

toyota

Lifer
Apr 15, 2001
12,957
1
0
Flipped Gazelle said:
Hang on...

In AMD-world, a "945" is a Phenom II, not an Athlon. Are you sure this is the CPU you currently have?

The Intel i5 560 you mentioned in your OP is actually a Celeron, which is a reduced-performance version of a full "i5". It is not faster than an AMD Phenom II X4 945.

If you query is, essentially, "should I ditch my current PC for a new one with an Intel i5 560?", then the answer is "no." The i5 560 is, for the most part, slower than your current AMD chip.

As for the 945 being "slow", it isn't. How many applications and processes are running at startup?

Also, there really is no "future proof". High-end apps like Photoshop always want more speed, more RAM, faster hard drive, etc.

You need more than just a "fast" CPU. You want generous amounts of memory and a fast hard drive or SSD. What are the specs of the rest of your computer?
Click to expand...
the cpu you refer to is a Celeron 560 not i5 560 so maybe he means i5 650.
 
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